As of Wednesday, April 28, 2021, Montana reports 108,489 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 180 new cases reported in the last day: 35 in Gallatin County, 33 in Yellowstone County, 25 in Flathead County, 22 in Cascade County, 14 in Missoula County, 11 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 19 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 994. Currently, 55 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Gallatin, Yellowstone, and Cascade Counties. 1,567 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Four more deaths have been reported in the last two days. Nationwide, more than 573,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 32,200,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

A bill in the Montana legislature that increases the tax credit people can claim by giving to a scholarship program for private or public schools from $150 to $200,000 passed the Legislature on Tuesday. House Bill 279 is from Republican Rep. Seth Berglee, of Joliet. It also increases the cap on the program to $2 million in 2023, with provisions to increase that by 20% in later years if donations come in at 80% or greater of the limit.

As the legislative session dwindles down to its final days, Republicans on Tuesday rushed a pair of controversial election bills to the governor’s desk after giving them substantial alterations in recent days. House Bill 530, amended the previous day to borrow from a defeated bill that sought to restrict ballot collection, prohibits anyone from turning in another person’s ballot if they receive a “pecuniary benefit” for doing so. House Bill 651 changes signature petitions for future ballot initiatives to require that they would have to include a warning label if the attorney general determines the proposal could hurt businesses. That bill also bars citizen-brought initiatives from increasing or expanding eligibility for government programs.

Direct flights from Denver to West Yellowstone are planned to start this summer, the first new connection announced at the Yellowstone Airport in more than four decades. United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines is scheduled to offer three flights a day — with midweek exceptions — June 3 to Sept. 29 from Denver International Airport to Yellowstone Airport at West Yellowstone.